"If
it's possible to find some common ground between
those two viewpoints, it might be this: The type
of leadership required depends on the type of
challenge to be confronted. Sometimes an appreciation
of nuance is useful in solving problems; sometimes
it can paralyze you and prevent you from taking
necessary action."

"On
Monday, the Bush administration will take away
the right to receive overtime pay from millions
of employees in a broad range of occupations,
from office workers in financial services to embalmers,
nursery school teachers and restaurant chefs and
assistant managers. Despite four disapproving
votes in Congress, the Bush administration is
using its power and authority to accomplish the
biggest rollback in employee rights in more than
half a century."

"This
paper was born out of my observing recent events,
national and world, watching Americans facing
off along partisan lines, and digging in; leaving
me wondering, "is anyone really paying attention
to the drift of the ship of state?"

"In
my world, if people aren't doing their job, they
get fired. Bush failed to protect America on 9/11.
He lied about the war on Iraq. Why is he still
in the White House? If Congress were conservative,
they would fire his ass -- if not put him in jail."

"Just
FYI, of the many allies the Bush White House managed
to gratuitously insult on the run-up to the invasion
of Iraq, we miffed the Canadians by blowing off
their last-minute attempt to work out a deal for
continued inspections under a strict timeframe
-- we not only blew it off, we went to the trouble
of being rude and arrogant about it."

"'America's
Ownership Society' is a phrase you'll be hearing
a lot over the next few weeks, as Putsch makes
it a centerpiece of his campaign in the run up
to the final, post Labor Day sprint. Like most
such phrases uttered by Putsch, it may mean nothing
at all, just as such other Karl Rove snippets
of happy talk like 'compassionate conservatism,'
'a uniter, not a divider,' and 'leave no child
behind' turned out to do."

"Florida,
the Fun State, is off to a fast start on election
shenanigans this year. Undeterred by the state's
electoral disgrace in 2000, elections officials
there have all but publicly announced, 'We're
going to cheat again this year.' In July, voting
rights groups asked for the audits of the 2002
gubernatorial election, supposedly collected by
new electronic voting machines. Ooops. Records
gone."

"There's
so much BS and baloney thrown around about Venezuela
that I may be violating some rule of US journalism
by providing some facts. Let's begin with this:
77% of Venezuela's farmland is owned by 3% of
the population, the 'hacendados.'"

"You
will recall that the nation's terror alert level
was recently raised, largely due to information
that was revealed to be several years old. This
led some critics to suggest Ridge acted less from
the need to respond to a terrorist threat than
from the need to snatch the spotlight from John
Kerry."

"You
know it's time for a serious change when the president
of the United States actually mutters the infantile,
instantly infamous line, 'Our enemies are innovative
and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop
thinking about new ways to harm our country and
our people, and neither do we,' just after finishing
phonetically spelling out his name, in his favoritest
red crayon, on yet another budget-reaming $417
billion defense-spending bill."

"The
right question: Put yourself in the shoes of the
President at the time and ask what would a reasonable
and prudent person do in the same situation, irrespective
of the result? In other words: What would any
president do when confronted with an al-Qaeda
declaration of war, a history of earlier attacks,
exceptional advice on how serious the threat was
and troublesome warnings of new attacks?"

"The
flavor of the week, so to speak, is that those
who consider themselves liberals/Democrats, are
planning on voting for John Kerry, do not approve
of President Bush, are against the war on Iraq,
or thought that Fahrenheit 9/11 was a good documentary
are un-American, unpatriotic, and 'hate' the United
States."

"Or
maybe it's the oil: Venezuela sits atop a reserve
rivaling Iraq's. And Hugo thinks the US and British
oil companies that pump the crude ought to pay
more than a 16% royalty to his nation for the
stuff. Hey, sixteen percent isn't even acceptable
as a tip at a New York diner."

"Last
week, the administration was desperate to justify
their decision to raise the threat level to orange
in three states based on activity that occurred
over three years ago. National Security Advisor
Condoleezza Rice admitted yesterday that the administration
- during a background briefing to reporters -
identified Mohammed Naeem Noor Khan as the source
of the information that prompted the terror alert."

"Readers
who are already familiar with the smear job pulled
by the 'Swift Boat Vets Against Kerry' will probably
want to skip this piece; you've already spent
the last couple of days alternating between grinning
in disbelief and shaking your head in disgust.
The rest of you, gather Śround, because Uncle
Zepp is gonna tell you a story."

"That
dog is an American liberal. L-word became an epithet
because liberals gave up without a fight years
ago. They
ceded the moral high ground to guys with the big
radio voices who insist conservative means God
and country. Liberal, on the other hand, was equated
with all things godless and unpatriotic.

"CNN
question, which is more important? Republicans
argue, GNP and good economic indicators as the
Republicans are boasting, make job creation and
job outsourcing inconsequential. The test in determining
any truth to this argument is how each translates
in new income and wealth, a real benefit to prosperity
or a real downturn to prosperity."

"Therefore,
neither of the parties behind the advert are part
of the Republican party or the Bush campaign.
Swift Boat Veterans for Truth is a 527, and Regnery
Press is a commercial (although politically committed)
publishing company. However, a look at the people
who connect the enterprises reveals them to be
part of a rich partisan tapestry."

"I
was hard-pressed to answer the inquiry about President
George W. Bush, except to note that people who
consider themselves pro-choice on abortion tend
to be more willing to vote for people who don't
agree with them than do people who consider themselves
pro-life."

"As
our president told us this afternoon, it is important
that vital agencies like ours reflect those very
values and integrity that are the bedrock of the
American people, and if we never stray from them,
we will present the American people with the information
and news that they deserve."

"I've
got an easier job than Michael: as a journalist
I don't have to defend any candidate. Nevertheless,
I know that my Democratic Party friends will want
to ship me to Guantanamo for asking, 'You believe
in Kerry, but does he believe in you?'"

"Kerry
and Edwards had to go into the convention and
address three salient points. Edwards had to show
that he was more than the pretty-boy piece of
fluff the Republicans were painting him as. Kerry
had to demonstrate that he wasn't the cold and
austere New England aristocrat the Republicans
were painting him as. And they both had to show
that they could counter the right wing propaganda
and fight back."

"But
according to congressional sources, the government
is soon expected to project a record federal budget
deficit, even as President Bush demands more money
for war in Iraq, and a $1 trillion proposal for
more tax cuts."

"At
a press conference Wednesday morning before the
Florida delegation to the Democratic Convention
in Boston, Moore endorsed a bill introduced by
Brown to make it easier for Congress to challenge
an election tainted by apparent fraud."

"Here
are some things Americans should consider before
deciding whom they will vote for in November.
You are not going to sleep with the president,
become his best buddy or be his favorite pen pal.
Therefore, you do not have to vote for someone
you think is likable or handsome or charming."

"'First
Amendment Zones' began the day Putsch seized office.
When the motorcade traveled to the Congress for
the swearing in ceremony, protesters - by the
thousands - were identified and relegated to the
zones a few streets away."

"Americans
owe the 9/11 commission a deep debt for its extensive
exposition of the facts surrounding the World
Trade Center and Pentagon attacks. Yet, because
the commission had a goal of creating a unanimous
report from a bipartisan group, it softened the
edges and left it to the public to draw many conclusions."

"During
his public testimony before the 9/11 commission,
Attorney General John Ashcroft attempted to deflect
criticism from his own lackluster counterterrorism
efforts by pinning the blame on a 1995 memo written
by former deputy Attorney General (and current
9/11 commissioner) Jamie Gorelick."

"Last
month we learned that the United States, while
it has spent vast sums on the war in Iraq, has
so far provided almost no aid. Of $18.4 billion
in reconstruction funds approved by Congress,
only $400 million has been disbursed."

"Complete
with the report came a separate news story, of
video stills released by the prosecuting attorneys
in a civil suit filed against American Airlines
which showed four of the hijackers being checked
out and passed through airport security that fateful
morning."

"Yes,
Bush/Cheney and the GOP are floundering a bit,
and the Kerry/Edwards ticket looks promising,
but none of this is going to matter unless the
average American citizen develops more nerve and
a better sense of discernment prior to the highly
anticipated '2004 October Surprise Terror Attack'."

"They
behead--we do it with smart bombs. There is, of
course, an ugly truth to this recently minted
axiom: the horror of state terrorism is that the
overwhelming machinery of death in the hands of
all-powerful governments far outweighs individual
atrocities by madmen, groupuscles and non-state
entities."

"WASHINGTON
CONSERVATIVE "government" sputtered and then flopped
last week as it attempted to grapple with the
absurd contradictions inherent in subsidizing
big business and regulating people's lives."

"President
Bush has claimed that the prison abuse scandal
in Iraq was just 'conduct by a few American troops.'
But with Congress investigating the scandal, a
series of explosive new reports provides evidence
that the tactics may have been approved at the
highest levels of government."

"According
to government documents obtained by the New York
Times, the Bush Administration now estimates 'that
employers will reduce or eliminate prescription
drug benefits for 3.8 million retirees when Medicare
offers such coverage in 2006' That represents
one-third of all the retirees with employer-sponsored
drug coverage."

"John
Kerry has the right resume but lacks the Kennedy
charisma. John Edwards has charisma but lacks
the Kennedy portfolio. Like pieces of a puzzle,
the two Johns might just make one Jack. That is
the party bet."

"The
United States went to war on the basis of false
claims. More than 800 Americans and countless
Iraqis have lost their lives because of these
false claims. The American taxpayer has to pay
up to $200 billion--and maybe more--because of
these false claims. The United States' standing
in the world has fallen precipitously because
of these false claims."

"But
in the case of Ken Lay, it took THREE YEARS to
bring an indictment, and it came at a time when
Americans were trying to pretend the Putsch junta
wasn't the most corrupt and secretive administration
in history, one contemptuous of justice and of
answering to the people."

"Independent
presidential candidate Ralph Nader -- still not
on the ballot in a single state -- has received
a recent windfall of contributions from deep-pocketed
Republicans with a history of big contributions
to the party, an analysis of federal records show."

"In
the months after the tragic attacks of 9/11, President
Bush told the American people that he had 'no
ambition whatsoever to use [the War on Terror]
as a political issue.'[1] But according to a new
report, the Bush Administration is now demanding
that international allies coordinate the arrest
of al Qaeda terrorists to coincide with key U.S.
political events, so as to maximize political
benefits for the President."

"Ken
Lay and his Enron team are the Number One political
career donors to George W. Bush. Mr. Lay and his
Mrs., with no money to pay back bilked creditors,
still managed to personally put up $100,000 for
George's inaugural Ball plus $793,110 for personal
donations to Republicans. Lay's Enron team dropped
$4.2 million into the party that let Enron party."

"So,
now, despite the fact that McCain 'categorically
states that he has not been offered the vice presidency
by any one,' the Republican National Committee
is mounting an aggressive campaign to portray
Kerry's choice, North Carolina Senator John Edwards,
as the presidential candidate's 'second choice.'"

"Saddam
was looking pretty sharp, beard neatly trimmed,
nice casual threads, dropped a stone or so, clear-eyed
and exuding confidence. Even worse, he basically
took control of the television cameras, throwing
the court on the defensive."

"Partly
because of events in the real world, partly because
of poor judgment about America's willingness to
pay attention, partly because the commercials
were mediocre, the Bush campaign does not have
much to show for its massive investment. In the
latest CBS-New York Times poll, negative opinions
of Kerry seem to have peaked at about 35 percent,
less than the core Republican vote that can be
counted on this November."

"If
the notion of the dour, cynical little class warrior
being our little ray of sunshine strikes you as
faintly absurd, consider the fact that this administration
(which has bogged us down in a quagmire in Iraq,
pissed away trillions of dollars in the national
treasury in a giveaway to major corporations,
and aroused rage and concern throughout America
and the world) is describing itself as being happy,
optimistic, and looking forward."

"For
starters, the job growth isn't translating into
broad-based wage growth. Even after three months
of good job creation, there is little pressure
to raise wages. That's why the May core inflation
rate -- without volatile indicators like energy
and food -- is just 0.2%. There's no wage pressure."

"Turns
out that they have, in large numbers. Putsch's
approval ratings have plummeted to 42% and figure
to drop further as more and more people see 'Fahrenheit
9/11' (the gross is presently $50 million and
will easily break $100 million)."